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Global transport of atmospheric smoke following a major nuclear exchange
Author(s) -
Haberle Robert M.,
Ackerman Thomas P.,
Toon Owen B.,
Hollingsworth Jeffery L.
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/gl012i006p00405
Subject(s) - stratosphere , smoke , atmospheric sciences , atmosphere (unit) , convection , environmental science , atmospheric circulation , meteorology , atmospheric convection , circulation (fluid dynamics) , general circulation model , climatology , physics , mechanics , geology , climate change , oceanography
A fully interactive zonally symmetric general circulation model is used to simulate the transport and evolution of a massive smoke cloud that is likely to form in the atmosphere following a major nuclear war. The presence of such a cloud significantly alters the simulated circulation and the subsequent transport of the smoke particles themselves. While the model indicates a tendency for interhemispheric exchange, the most immediate effect is that the radiatively active particles are carried into the stratosphere by the generation of strong vertical motions and intense convection regardless of their initial injection altitudes.